William Perlman/The Star-Ledger'Rex has brought something really, really special for us,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said of coach Rex Ryan, above.INDIANAPOLIS — They lined up along a metal barrier outside the Jets locker room — team officials and family members, politicians and fans — in an impromptu receiving line.

“All right coach! Great season!” someone yelled at Rex Ryan, but he did not lift his head.

“That’s all right! We’ll be back!” someone else told Mark Sanchez, but he sprinted right past.

“Good job, guys!” another called out as everyone clapped, but true to their spirit throughout this improbable playoff run, the Jets did not want to hear about their progress in the final months of the season.

Maybe, in a few days or weeks, they’ll focus on the rookie quarterback who played beyond his years and the coach who galvanized the fan base. Maybe they’ll talk about the future then.

Sunday night, in the visiting locker room at Lucas Oil Stadium, there was only this reality: The Jets had a 17-6 lead on the Indianapolis Colts. They were just one half and change from the Super Bowl.

And they let it slip away.

They gave up the final 24 points in a crushing 30-17 loss. Did they lose to a better team? Of course they did. Peyton Manning looked like the best quarterback to ever take a snap for stretches Sunday, completing 26 of his 39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.

“We tried everything,” Ryan said. “We tried man, tried two-man, tried zone ... you name it. But Peyton Manning, you’ve got to give him credit, man. He’s one heck of a quarterback, and we had some issues.”

Manning would have beaten just about any team. Still, the Jets built this postseason run on the belief that they were good enough to win the Super Bowl. For 28 minutes, in a raucous dome stadium against a team that had rolled out to a 14-0 start, they had proven it once again.

For 28 minutes, they did nearly everything right. They rattled Manning with their blitzes, sacking him twice on the first two drives. They hit a couple of big plays in the passing game, including the perfect 80-yard strike from Sanchez to receiver Braylon Edwards.

They put a scare into Indianapolis that the thousands of green-clad fans who invaded this city would be chanting their favorite four letters well into the night. The Jets might have needed some luck to get into the postseason, but there was nothing lucky about what they did in the first half.

“We had ’em,” general manager Mike Tannenbaum told owner Woody Johnson as they shook hands after the game. “We had ’em.”

Johnson nodded his head. The Jets became many things over the past few weeks, but for their owner, they became an escape from the grief of the unexpected death of his daughter.

His team had never reached an AFC Championship Game during his decade as owner. “Rex has brought something really, really special for us,” Johnson said. “I think it’s onward and upward from here.”

That might be the case. In Ryan, the Jets have found a leader who not only can out-talk the opposing coach, but come up with a better game plan, too, most days. In Sanchez, they have a quarterback who looked like a different player in the final two months of his rookie season.

He completed 17 of 30 passes for 257 yards, maybe the best game of his career so far. “We were almost there — almost there,” Sanchez said. “It was a heck of a year. I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world.”

Sanchez talked about taking the next step soon, but the Jets fans who’ve been around a while have heard that before. They got this far in 1982, losing to Miami in the muddy Orange Bowl. They got this far in 1998, losing in Denver and seeing Vinny Testaverde blow out his Achilles the next season.

The core of this team is young and talented, good enough to win the AFC East next year and get some playoff games in their new building. But sometimes, next year doesn’t come.

They were up 17-6, just two minutes and change left in the first half, and Manning started picking apart that suspect Jets secondary. He needed 58 seconds to go 80 yards for the touchdown, and while the scoreboard had the Jets ahead, the momentum had shifted.

“We were 30 minutes away — with the lead,” strong safety Jim Leonhard said as the locker room emptied. “All you can think about is, you never know in this business. We obviously feel like we set the foundation, and maybe this team needs a loss like this to take the next step.

“There’s just that doubt,” he said. “You never know if you missed out on your opportunity.”

Maybe, in a few days or weeks, they’ll see this season as a success. Sunday night, there was only that 17-6 lead on their minds. The Super Bowl trip so close. An opportunity lost. Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@starledger.com, or follow him at Twitter.com/NJ_StevePoliti

Star-Ledger reporters discuss the end of the Jets' season

Star-Ledger discusses the end of the NY Jets seasonStar-Ledger Jets beat writer Dave Hutchinson along with Manish Mehta and Columnist Steve Politi discuss the end of a great season for the NY Jets as they lose to the Colts 30-17 in the AFC Championship on sunday.(Video by William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)